Saturday, June 26, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Just Pictures Look further down for update
Got you know Daddy
Mummy really more pictures
Day at Southside Park
Hanging out with my big sister
I look cool in Laura's old sunglasses
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Far too long
Ethan leaving Ukraine
Our plane from Amsterdam to Montreal
The flight from Montreal to Toronto, ya
Our welcome home balloons, mum thought smilley faces were good seeing as we had sent a lot of these on MSN
New way to ride the bike
Well we have been home 8 weeks, strange to think now that is not even as long as we were gone. I still find my self counting the weeks and thinking oh my gosh we really were gone a long time. So what have we and Ethan been up to since getting home you all ask, well for me it has been a lot of time spent in the basement trying to pull the first DOCC event together which was back at the end of May. The first 2 weeks after getting home, Martin and I could not stay awake past 9pm. This then only gave me 3 weeks to get Mosport organized, so I spent every hour that Ethan was sleeping, in the basement at the computer to the point that Martin called me the troll under the stairs. lol. After the event I took a week and half away from the computer as I really was sick of it, and started with problems with my elbows due to typing so much (I wonder why). I am now in the process of trying to enjoy the sun outside and my new son along with trying to get ready for yet another DOCC event in less than 2 weeks. I have thought about the many things we did with Laura when she first came home and it is sad but with your second it really is old hat in some ways. This is not to say he is not a delight to have, more on Ethan later. Martin started back to work on May 6, we had a really big scare when Firestone called a week before he was due to go back saying he was going to night shifts, we are glad he has a job but my goodness, this was going to be really hard going back on swing shifts. Anyway half hour later they called back to say no he was not going on swing shifts. We were both really relieved. Since then he has settled back into the routine of work, like he never left. Such is life.
Laura went back to school I think it was a week after we got home, and although she really complained about it she also settled back better than we all thought she would, and is now on a new med and doing extremely well at school, we are really proud of her. Again hard to believe but she will not have been back at school as long as we were gone, and this just before summer holidays start.
Now I know what you all really want to know is how is Ethan. Well in true style he has settled in just fine, just like Laura did. He is certainly a good fit for our family, and it is strange to think already that he has not always been with us. Once home he slept in a playpen in our room to start with just so that when he woke up we were there as in Kiev he had slept with one of us all the time. We did this for just over a week then moved him to the crib and not had a problem at all. He goes down for a 2 hour nap around 11am and goes to bed as good as gold at night. We are not sure what time he wakes up in a morning as he makes no sound at all, and some days I go in at 7:30 and he is still asleep others he is awake. He always wakes up happy and loves to have a cuddle when he first comes out of the crib; once he has the cuddle look out because his feet have hit the floor running. This is new, the running, as he has never had the space to do it. We have to keep all the doors closed down the hall but his room; as the bathroom he likes to unroll the toilet paper, Laura's room is like he has hit the jackpot when it comes to toys, and our room well that is where things get put he is not allowed to have. Each morning Laura gets up and runs to the top of the stairs to make sure the gate is closed, we now call her "The Gate Keeper". Ethan likes things with wheels and proceeds to turn everything upside down just to get at them and spin them. Martin calls him his wheel junky. Oh yes and he loves the vacuum, yep another child who will stop what he is doing if he hears that closet door open. He likes the hose the best. Unlike Laura was, Ethan is not afraid of different flooring, as in the different transition between rooms and such. He has also discovered he can open the screen door on to the deck (the lock is broken) and will run out there given half the chance. He has not figured out how to go down stairs though and just thinks you step off the edge and it will all be ok. He has fallen down a flight of stairs once at a friends house but all was well.
He is trying to talk and some of the words he can sort of say are:
- up
- hiya
- eyes
- Laura
- Muma
- Diddit for Daddy
- good boy
- vroom vroom for the bike (guess who taught him that)
- kaka for a stinky bum (grabs your nose and says kaka too)
- stinky
He loves to go in swings, and down slides at the park, and giggles and smiles at both. Saturday was his first time in the kiddie pool at mums and he thinks this is wonderful. He has not been in the big pool yet, as Martin wants to be there when he does and we have not had a chance to do it. I do know that I have two fish for children though.
Ethan has discovered his temper when he does not get what he wants and he sure does let us know by yelling babble at us and stomping his feet, then collapsing to the floor in a dramatic heap when he doesn't get his way. We just watch and smile and even laugh sometimes as it is kind of funny. Poor kid. I do hope the temper does not continue though as it may be an issue later when he really figures out his words. He loves to wrestle with Martin and cuddle with me.
He is an out door child and gets really excited when I put his shoes on. He likes to go in the trampoline with Laura and she is a great big sister at bouncing him. He watches everything she does and copies it right away, he is a sponge right now.
As far as his health goes he is well, we have been to the Dr's and they ran a full blood work on him, 6 viles of blood, poor little chap, stool samples, and a full abdominal ultra sound. From this we found out he has only 1 kidney. The other could have been hiding as he was crying alot but we don't think so. We will try again in a few years when he does not get as upset about it all. Tomorrow we go see a heart Dr. and he will have an echo done just to make sure the heart is ok, as the reports from Ukraine gave us some doubt. But the Dr. thinks he is just fine. He is eating very well now, and I don't have to mush everthing up any more, he is really learning to chew his food. When we first took him to the Dr's he was around 20lbs he is now 22lbs.
Well I could go on and on with things but right now it is almost midnight and I really should get to bed.
I am sorry it has taken this long to write this and post pictures. Many of our friends we have not had a chance to see yet nor have we had a chance to introduce Ethan but I am hoping to come out of the basement around mid July. lol
Love to all
Jenny, Martin, Laura and Ethan
Friday, April 23, 2010
I am singing from the roof tops
WE ARE HOME, WE ARE HOME, WE ARE HOME. I think you will all understand that we are home FINALLY. Oh what a feeling it is, I keep walking around the house looking at rooms going wow then I look outside and go wow. It is hard to believe that we are here at last but it was not without a few bumps on the journey home so this is the continuation of our journey.
Tuesday morning we got up and did our usual thing turn the TV on to BBC world news to see the latest news, to our surprise airports in the Netherlands and across Europe were open. I phoned KLM and they said yes the flight was to go out, but we did not trust this, so Martin took off to the KLM office, he ran back to the apartment to tell me yes it was going, so we had to kick into high gear. I packed washed the kids up and got generally ready. Martin had to leave again to get nappies and food for Ethan as we were not sure if we would get stuck in Amsterdam. I had arranged for us to be picked up at 3:30 but they were a little late, and we left the apartment at 3:50. In true Kiev fashion the traffic was bumper to bumper and Martin and I were getting worried that we would not make it in time. Our driver was really good and took back streets as much as he could to get around the traffic. Once out of the city it was 130KM to the airport, and we made it on time. Oh ya, that’s the actual speed limit in the fast lane, the next lane is 120 then 90 then 70...it’s great. There were a couple more kicks to the teeth for us though. We got through to the check-in desk and thought ok we are good but then they informed us there were no ticket #'s on our paper, talk about our hearts sinking, they then said that Laura's ticket showed her going to Toronto, this would have been great if we all had been going. The time was ticking and after 30 mins they finally got the problem sorted and they sent us to security. For those of you who have not flown in a while, this means coats off, computer has to be taken out of the case, Martin has to remove his belt, stroller collapsed and everything put on the conveyer belt and at times shoes off and everything out of your pockets. Not an easy task with 2 kids and when you’re rushing. Then they decide to search Laura's hand luggage which is just full of her toys, Martin and I are now in a bigger panic. Finally we left there and then had to go through passport control, here they wanted to see Ethan's adoption papers so we dragged them out, by this time the girl from KLM had come to find us as they were now holding the plane for us. The customs officer took his sweet old time then said he would be right back, by this time Martin and I were both sweating thinking this is it, we are going to be stuck here again we truly thought we would miss the plane. Even the KLM woman asked them if there was a problem. Finally he let us go and it was a mad dash to the plane, it was like something out of a movie. Once on the plane the hostess and even the Captain told us to take our time. I was even given a drink of water. We were finally leaving Ukraine.
We arrived in Amsterdam and went straight to the hotel that is in the airport. We could not leave the airport as Ethan did not have a visa in his passport to do this. There were cots all over the place that they had set up for the stranded passengers, but by this time they had got a lot of the flights out. We found the hotel and were pleased to find out they had a room, what a relief. It was a good room, small and no windows but there were comfortable beds and we were part way home.
After a good night’s sleep we still had time to kill in the airport. (You book the hotel for a 12 hour period not 24) Laura enjoyed looking at the planes and watching the engines turn. All this time we kept checking the boards worried that it would suddenly say Cancelled. At 1:30 we made our way down to the gate, they took us to the front of the line and we got boarded first because of the kids. We could not believe that we were sitting on a plane bound for Canada. Now we still have to have one last worry and that was it was announced there was a problem with the toilets and they would have to try to fix it. So we sat for an hour while they tried to fix a toilet. Yep we were delayed by a toilet. In the end they taped it off and said not to use it.
As the plane taxied to the run way it all seemed so strange that it was going to happen. The flight was good and the KLM staff were wonderful, we had one struggle with Ethan, he was tired and did not want to go to sleep we got him off with 2 hours to go in the flight. When the plane touched down Laura and I cheered and yelled we are home we made it. People around us just smiled and laughed. We had a wonderful surprise as we walked out to see our friend from Montreal, Janet Martin, had come to greet us, this was very special as it would have felt so strange not having anyone there. Thanks so much Janet. We got some supper and marvelled at the fact we could read the menu and signs. Then it was on to the West Jet flight at 7:30 and Toronto bound we were. Laura spent the whole flight punching her arms in the air saying we are going home. Once landed we rushed to get our luggage and oh how the tears flowed once we saw the family. Thanks to Kim's Mum and Dad who made the trip down from Markham to greet us home also.
So we made it, and oh ya I did get down and kiss the ground in Toronto.
The trip home seemed so real, and I was so glad to see the house. Our neighbours had made a sign to greet us and Mum and Robert had balloons outside and in, this Laura really liked.
Well we have finally (I use that word a lot) finished our journey and achieved what we set out to do 10 and Half weeks ago. We have a son, seen many sights, experienced many emotions and had lots of ups and downs. Ethan is adjusting to his new life and so are we. This is something we will never forget and Ethan will be told when he is older, what a story he has to tell.
So to sum it all up there is another empty crib in Ukraine and a full one in Canada with a full life ahead of us all and for Ethan a life time of LOVE.
Love to you all for all the support you have given us it has meant so much to Martin and I knowing that people were interested in what was going on. Now please feel free to come visit us and meet the newest member of the Waterland Family.
Jenny, Martin, Laura and Ethan
P.S To all perspective parents looking to Ukraine to adopt that have been following this blog please feel free to contact us either by phone or email. There is much I could tell you and advice to give, and places you really need to go see. Jennifer.
Tuesday morning we got up and did our usual thing turn the TV on to BBC world news to see the latest news, to our surprise airports in the Netherlands and across Europe were open. I phoned KLM and they said yes the flight was to go out, but we did not trust this, so Martin took off to the KLM office, he ran back to the apartment to tell me yes it was going, so we had to kick into high gear. I packed washed the kids up and got generally ready. Martin had to leave again to get nappies and food for Ethan as we were not sure if we would get stuck in Amsterdam. I had arranged for us to be picked up at 3:30 but they were a little late, and we left the apartment at 3:50. In true Kiev fashion the traffic was bumper to bumper and Martin and I were getting worried that we would not make it in time. Our driver was really good and took back streets as much as he could to get around the traffic. Once out of the city it was 130KM to the airport, and we made it on time. Oh ya, that’s the actual speed limit in the fast lane, the next lane is 120 then 90 then 70...it’s great. There were a couple more kicks to the teeth for us though. We got through to the check-in desk and thought ok we are good but then they informed us there were no ticket #'s on our paper, talk about our hearts sinking, they then said that Laura's ticket showed her going to Toronto, this would have been great if we all had been going. The time was ticking and after 30 mins they finally got the problem sorted and they sent us to security. For those of you who have not flown in a while, this means coats off, computer has to be taken out of the case, Martin has to remove his belt, stroller collapsed and everything put on the conveyer belt and at times shoes off and everything out of your pockets. Not an easy task with 2 kids and when you’re rushing. Then they decide to search Laura's hand luggage which is just full of her toys, Martin and I are now in a bigger panic. Finally we left there and then had to go through passport control, here they wanted to see Ethan's adoption papers so we dragged them out, by this time the girl from KLM had come to find us as they were now holding the plane for us. The customs officer took his sweet old time then said he would be right back, by this time Martin and I were both sweating thinking this is it, we are going to be stuck here again we truly thought we would miss the plane. Even the KLM woman asked them if there was a problem. Finally he let us go and it was a mad dash to the plane, it was like something out of a movie. Once on the plane the hostess and even the Captain told us to take our time. I was even given a drink of water. We were finally leaving Ukraine.
We arrived in Amsterdam and went straight to the hotel that is in the airport. We could not leave the airport as Ethan did not have a visa in his passport to do this. There were cots all over the place that they had set up for the stranded passengers, but by this time they had got a lot of the flights out. We found the hotel and were pleased to find out they had a room, what a relief. It was a good room, small and no windows but there were comfortable beds and we were part way home.
After a good night’s sleep we still had time to kill in the airport. (You book the hotel for a 12 hour period not 24) Laura enjoyed looking at the planes and watching the engines turn. All this time we kept checking the boards worried that it would suddenly say Cancelled. At 1:30 we made our way down to the gate, they took us to the front of the line and we got boarded first because of the kids. We could not believe that we were sitting on a plane bound for Canada. Now we still have to have one last worry and that was it was announced there was a problem with the toilets and they would have to try to fix it. So we sat for an hour while they tried to fix a toilet. Yep we were delayed by a toilet. In the end they taped it off and said not to use it.
As the plane taxied to the run way it all seemed so strange that it was going to happen. The flight was good and the KLM staff were wonderful, we had one struggle with Ethan, he was tired and did not want to go to sleep we got him off with 2 hours to go in the flight. When the plane touched down Laura and I cheered and yelled we are home we made it. People around us just smiled and laughed. We had a wonderful surprise as we walked out to see our friend from Montreal, Janet Martin, had come to greet us, this was very special as it would have felt so strange not having anyone there. Thanks so much Janet. We got some supper and marvelled at the fact we could read the menu and signs. Then it was on to the West Jet flight at 7:30 and Toronto bound we were. Laura spent the whole flight punching her arms in the air saying we are going home. Once landed we rushed to get our luggage and oh how the tears flowed once we saw the family. Thanks to Kim's Mum and Dad who made the trip down from Markham to greet us home also.
So we made it, and oh ya I did get down and kiss the ground in Toronto.
The trip home seemed so real, and I was so glad to see the house. Our neighbours had made a sign to greet us and Mum and Robert had balloons outside and in, this Laura really liked.
Well we have finally (I use that word a lot) finished our journey and achieved what we set out to do 10 and Half weeks ago. We have a son, seen many sights, experienced many emotions and had lots of ups and downs. Ethan is adjusting to his new life and so are we. This is something we will never forget and Ethan will be told when he is older, what a story he has to tell.
So to sum it all up there is another empty crib in Ukraine and a full one in Canada with a full life ahead of us all and for Ethan a life time of LOVE.
Love to you all for all the support you have given us it has meant so much to Martin and I knowing that people were interested in what was going on. Now please feel free to come visit us and meet the newest member of the Waterland Family.
Jenny, Martin, Laura and Ethan
P.S To all perspective parents looking to Ukraine to adopt that have been following this blog please feel free to contact us either by phone or email. There is much I could tell you and advice to give, and places you really need to go see. Jennifer.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Update - out of Ukraine
We flew to Amsterdam yesterday Tuesday and have stayed the night in the hotel in the airport. We are now schduled to fly to Montreal this afternoon, then we will get a flight to Toronto that is everything goes to plan.
Jenny
Jenny
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
frustrated in Ukraine
We are in an apartment in Kiev, have been since Saturday. We had hoped to fly out on Tuesday evening to Amsterdam then on Wednesday to Montreal. We don't think this is going to happen, as only a few flights are going into and out of Amsterdam.
Our patience is wearing very thin now and totally we are starting to go crazy. If we don't get this flight today, I don't think we will get one till next week or even after that, as most flights are booked. We are looking into flying any where in Canada just to get back on to Canadain soil. So those friends in Calgary you may see us too.
anyway talk to you all later
Jenny
Our patience is wearing very thin now and totally we are starting to go crazy. If we don't get this flight today, I don't think we will get one till next week or even after that, as most flights are booked. We are looking into flying any where in Canada just to get back on to Canadain soil. So those friends in Calgary you may see us too.
anyway talk to you all later
Jenny
Friday, April 16, 2010
STUCK- Damn volcano
Well I thought things could just not got worse but it has. We are stuck in Ukraine and not even for paper work this time a stupid volcano thousand of miles away in Iceland. For those of you who have not heard go watch the news. We have no clue as to when we will get home at this time the flights are all booked up thats if they fly. So for now we are in a hotel for tonight and beyond that don't have a clue.
Will keep you updated when I can.
Will keep you updated when I can.
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